90 killed sectarian clashes in Karachi in a week

At least 90 people, including members of the minority Shia community, have been killed in various incidents of target killings in Pakistan's commercial city of Karachi in the past week, as five more lives were lost today.

Five more people were killed today taking the death toll in the target killings and sectarian violence in the city to 90.

A doctor, identified as Nisar, working at the Lyari hospital was shot dead today in a busy market.

Earlier during the day, a firing incident in the Memon Goth area of Malir in the city left two people injured, who later succumbed to their injuries. Two other people also lost their lives to target killings today.

The violence in the city has claimed at least 90 lives in the past week.

In an incident that left three people injured, Shia Muslim mourners at a funeral clashed with the participants of a rally taken out by Sunni Muslims.

21:23Abu Qatada wins appeal against deportation to Jordan: Radical Muslim preacher Abu Qatada today won his appeal against deportation from Britain to Jordan to face terrorism charges after judges ruled that despite Jordanian assurances, the cleric faced the risk of trial based on evidence obtained by torture.

Qatada faces allegations of plotting bomb attacks in Jordan.

The ruling by the special immigration appeals commission is a setback for Britain's home secretary Theresa May, who personally secured assurances from the Jordanian authorities that he would not face a trial based on evidence obtained by torture.

She intends to fight the ruling.

20:45Sharma to meet Chidambaram to seek sops for exports: Admitting that a US$ 360 billion export target is difficult to achieve, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma today said he would soon meet the finance minister to seek subsidy on loans for certain sectors to boost industrial production and exports.

Sharma said that interest subvention is critical for some sectors, both from the point of view of manufacturing as well as exports.

"We need to add more sectors under the interest subvention (scheme), like all the SMEs have been given, interest subvention of two per cent. I proposed to discuss this with the finance minister very soon, so that we can take a considered view on this matter," he said.

20:24Pakistan interior minister's visit uncertain: The visit of Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik to India on November 22-23 for operationalisation of the landmark India-Pakistan visa agreement is unlikely to take place as Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde would be busy in Parliament being the Leader of Lok Sabha.

This is expected to be conveyed by New Delhi to Islamabad soon, official sources said.

Malik had indicated to Shinde, when they had met in Rome on the sidelines of the Interpol General Assembly last week, that he would travel to New Delhi to formally launch the new visa regime.

However, the winter session of Parliament will start from November 22. Shinde, also the Leader of Lok Sabha, would be busy with Parliamentary proceedings and hardly get time to host his Pakistani counterpart.

20:17China accuses Dalai Lama of betraying motherland:
Amid the leadership Congress of the ruling Chinese Communist Party, China today lashed out at the Dalai Lama for backing Japan's claim to the disputed islands, accusing him of colluding with right-wing forces there to split the "motherland".

"The Dalai Lama's gummy performance once again shows his true colours of betraying his motherland and engaging in activities to split China under the guise of religion, " Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said.

Hong made the comments in response to a question about the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader's use of the Japanese name for an island chain, claimed by both Beijing and Tokyo, at a recent press conference in the Japanese city of Yokohama.

20:04China feeling pressure of unemployment, recession: China, with a 4.1 per cent urban unemployment rate, is feeling the pressure from the country's sluggish economy, as new job growth slows and more people become unemployed, a top official said today.

"The impact of economic slowdown on the job market is starting to emerge," said Vice Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Yang Zhiming.

The growth of newly added jobs in cities has been narrowing since April, while job vacancies have dropped with higher registered unemployed number, Yang said at a press conference on the sidelines of the 18th National Congress of the ruling Communist Party, which opened in Beijing on November 8 to elect a new Chinese leadership.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who has been concerned over the atmosphere of perceived gloom over last several months, today utilised the occasion of Diwali to express hope that a "new phase of optimism" will dawn on countrymen.

In his Diwali message, Singh has wished peace and prosperity for the people. He expressed hope that the festival of lights this year will "mark the beginning of a new phase of optimism" for each one of the countrymen, a PMO statement said.

"Pakistan is trying to expedite the 26/11 trial. It is a good thing. They have petitioned the court that the trail of 26/11 accused should conducted on day-to-day basis. This is very good development," he said.

According to reports, the Pakistani Government has petitioned the court in Rawalpindi to conduct hearing of 2008 Mumbai attacks accused such as Lashkar-e-Toiba commander Zaki ur Rehman Lakhvi, Hafiz Saeed and others on a day-to-day basis.

18:21Move on CAG comes under political attack: An apparent move to make CAG a multi-member body today came under sharp attack from political parties which have warned that any such attempt may boomerang and vowed to oppose it inside and outside Parliament.

Reacting to Minister of State in the PMO V Narayanasamy's interview in which he had talked about consideration of a proposal to make CAG a multi-member body, Congress made it clear that government would not make institutional measures based on the activities of "a person" (incumbent CAG).

18:13 The blast took place at around 5.45 pm.

18:10One dead, one injured in blast in Imphal: Just in: Reports of a bomb blast in Imphal. One person has been killed and one person injured in the blast. The blast occurred at Airport Road in Imphal (west). Details awaited.

18:02Spectrum auction gets bids for just Rs 9200 cr: The Spectrum auction receives bids for Rs 9,200 crore, says Telecom Secretary R Chandrashekhar. The telecom spectrum auction opened today to a lukewarm response with key circles such as Delhi and Mumbai finding no takers in the initial rounds. There were no applications for pan-India spectrum, the base price for which was set at Rs 14,000 crore that the industry said was too high. The government was looking to raise Rs 40,000 crore from the auction.

17:35Tibetans in India stage protest against Chinese govt: Tibetans living in India, staged a protested outside the Chinese embassy in New Delhi on Monday against alleged repressive policies of the China to draw global attention to their plight at a time of change at the top in Beijing. The protesters, with faces painted in the red and yellow colours of Tibetan flag, charged towards the Chinese embassy shouting slogans of ''free Tibet''.

After a brief tussle with police, the protesters were controlled and detained. The protesters said the rising number of self-immolations by Buddhist monks and nuns inside Tibet was a cause of serious concern and that the world should put pressure on the Chinese government to end its repressive policies in their homeland.

Industry chamber CII said the Reserve Bank should intervene and cut interest rates. The RBI needs to reduce repo rate (short-term lending rate) by 0.5 per cent and Cash Reserve Ratio (the portion of deposits banks are required to keep with RBI) by 0.5 per cent.

"While fully appreciating the imperative of anchoring inflation, it is our view that RBI now needs to intervene and reduce interest rates, since a complete sacrifice of growth is not in the interest of the economy," CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said.

17:18New Aakash may be tough sell in India: Datawind LLC Sunday launched an upgraded version of the cheapest tablet computer in the world, the Aakash 2. But it is unlikely to shake up the low cost market in India, which is dominated by homegrown manufacturers. Read

17:14Hopeful for Sarabjit's early release: Sukhbir: Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today said that he was hopeful for early release of Sarabjit Singh and other innocent prisoners lodged in various jails of Pakistan since many years. Badal said that he had raised the issue with Chief Minister of Pak Punjab Muhhammad Shahbaz Sharif, for early release of Sarabjit and other Indian prisoners, who have either completed their terms or were jailed for petty offences.

17:06Defiant Armstrong posts pic of Tour champion jerseys: Lance Armstrong has defiantly posted an internet picture of himself with the seven Tour de France winner's jerseys that have been expunged from the history books. The American's victories from 1999-2005 have been annulled by cycling's ruling body following a damning report by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which made allegations of systematic drug use that he refused to contest. Read

16:55Is Pak media stoking anti-China feelings?: As a new generation of leaders are set to assume power in China, an influential state-run daily on Monday highlighted anti-China protests in Pakistan, regarded as an "all-weather ally' of Beijing and blamed Pakistani media for stoking anti-China feelings.

Written by a Pakistani scholar, an article said the recent protests in Karachi against the development of a mega city project funded by Chinese companies is "being highlighted as a symbol of anti-China sentiments inside Pakistan'.

16:44 Sports journalist Sharda Ugra will be penning the Yuvraj's Singh's book on cricket and cricketing and survivng cancer. Much awaited, we're sure.

16:41From India, a 'Lad Mag' thats the opposite of macho: This Diwali, while boys set off firecrackers and aunties light diyas and lanterns, Harish Sadani, looking rumpled as would any editor/publisher nearing a deadline, finally finds himself able to breathe. That's because Mr. Sadani, who runs a nongovernmental organization in Mumbai known as MAVA (Men Against Violence & Abuse), has just printed off the final pages of Purush Spandana, an annual magazine, or ank, printed especially for Diwali. Read

16:37 India stepping up to the challenge of post-2014 Afghanistan. Read

"Home cooks are probably following what their parents or grandparents did in the past by washing poultry, not to mention probably patting it dry with a tea towel," Food Safety Information Council Chairman, Dr Michael Eyles, said. "But washing poultry splashes these bacteria around the kitchen cross contaminating sinks, taps, your hands, utensils, chopping boards and foods that aren't going to be cooked like salads or desserts," Eyles said.

16:27TS Eliot's wife dies : Valerie Eliot, who has died aged 86, married the poet TS Eliot in 1957, when he was 68, and by sheer uncomplicated adoration achieved the miraculous feat of making him happy. Read

16:25Pranab Mukherjee's Diwali greetings for you: President Pranab Mukherjee, who extended his warm greetings and good wishes to the countrymen in India and around the world on Diwali, called for a pollution free celebration on the occasion.

"On the joyous occasion of Diwali, I extend my warm greetings and good wishes to my countrymen in India and around the world. Diwali is a time for festivity and happiness cutting across all faiths and cultures. It is an occasion to share our joy with those who are needy and deprived," said President Mukherjee in his message.

16:15Inside the filming locations of the latest Bond film: The only item more impressive than 007's stunts in the James Bond films are the locations in which they're filmed. We went through Sony's production notes for "Skyfall" due out November 9 to take a look at exactly where the film takes place. Read more

16:11Officials say FBI knew of Petraeus affair in the summer: Talk about a slow leak: apparently, high-level officials at the FBI and the Justice Department were notified late this past summer that the bureau's agents had uncovered CIA Director David Petraeus's extramarital affair. But the FBI did not notify anyone else until this past week because there was a lack of evidence that security had been breached. Read

"My visiting this time to India is focused particularly in talking to and asking and requesting Indian businesses to come to Afghanistan," Karzai said in New Delhi.

He was speaking after India and Afghanisation signed four Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs), including on education."Investment opportunities in Afghanistan today are better. A country that is more confident of its future and that is willing to receive investments from its friends," he added.

15:46Living with cancer: The World Health Organization estimates that by 2020, every family in
India will have a cancer case; some others believe one in six or eight
Indians will have cancer in their lifetime. These are statistics that
should keep the public health policy makers up at night.

15:25Athlete Pinki Pramanik male, charged with rape:
Pramanik was arrested on June 14 after she was accused of being a male by her live-in partner, a 30-year-old estranged woman who also alleged that she was raped by Pramanik. Twenty-six days later, a Barasat court had granted bail for the athlete when medical tests conducted during that time proved inconclusive.

Pramanik had won the 4x400m relay gold in the 2006 Doha Asiad and silver in the same event at the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games.

Even as she was released from jail, a video showing the athlete completely naked and undergoing tests at a private nursing home went viral online.

15:19Athlete Pinky Pramanik male, charged with rape:
Just in: Medical reports suggests athlete Pinky Pramanik is male. The West Bengal police have now chargesheeted Pramanik on two counts of rape, assault and cheating. The Asian Games gold medalist runner Pramanik was arrested in June after it was alleged she is a male and tried to rape a woman. Consequent, medical tests proved inconclusive and Pramanik was released from jail.

This test has been performed by a group of doctors at the SSKM hospital in Kolkata.

15:11Myanmar readies for Obama's visit: I don't think there are any reliable opinion polls, but judging by anecdotal evidence, most Burmese are pretty happy to hear that President Obama has been re-elected. I spoke with a number of people who attended the US embassy's election night party in Rangoon, and all of them were optimistic that the extension of his term in office will boost US-Burmese relations across the board, in areas ranging from economics to security. Read

15:00Vaidya's remarks on Modi unfounded: Gadkari: And now, what BJP president Nitin Gadkari said today on RSS ideologue M G Vaidya's comments. Gadkari termed as "unfounded" remarks of the RSS ideologue that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi was behind the campaign to make him quit as BJP President and said all party leaders are working unitedly for the organisation.

Gadkari also rejected Vaidya's attempt to link recent comments by party MP Ram Jethmalani with Modi. "The BJP completely rejects such insinuation, as it is totally unfounded. All central leaders of the party and its Chief Ministers have been working cohesively and unitedly for the cause of the party," he said.

In his blog, Vaidya lamented the public statement of Jethmalani in which he had demanded the resignation of Gadkari and had sought projection of Modi as prime ministerial candidate.

Gadkari said BJP is fighting Gujarat assembly elections with "complete unity of purpose" and mutual confidence. "BJP is firmly and unitedly behind Narendra Modi and we are confident that the party will win decisively in the ensuing assembly elections," he said.

Vaidya has said the needle of suspicion in the anti-Gadkari campaign in BJP points towards Modi who has never denied his ambition to become Prime Minister.

The RSS was quick to distance itself from Vaidya's remarks with Sangh leader Ram Madhav noting that it may be the ideologue's personal view and "it is not the opinion of the Sangh."

"Pakistani or Indian?' the cop barks out as you lower your window. When I answer "Indian', he wants me to produce a passport to prove that, and as it happens, I am not carrying one. So I am pulled out of the car in the freezing cold and given a full body search, with the policemen muttering under his breath in Dari that everyone goes around claiming to be an Indian, especially Pakistanis. Read

14:34MIM pulls out of UPA, Cong govt in Andhra: Just in: The Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen has withdraw support to the UPA. Earlier today, the MIM also withdrew support from the Kiran Kumar Reddy government in Andhra
Pradesh. The MIM has seven MLAs and one MP. As the Congress government
in the state is surviving on a razor thin majority in the 294 member
assembly.

14:15I am NOT on ventilator, assures Bal Thackeray: Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray today dismissed reports of his being on ventilator and blamed a leading Marathi newspaper for spreading the "falsehood". "I am not on a ventilator," Thackeray said.

Warning those publishing misleading news about his being on ventilator, Thackeray said they should desist from such news. The 86-year-old Sena chief, who has been suffering from breathing problems for some time, expressed these views in an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana'. Thackeray admitted his health was "not that good".

"However, I have not completely collapsed," he said. His remarks came after media reports about deterioration in his medical condition. "So far, there has been no need of artificial respiration," he said. "The good wishes of lakhs of my Shiv Sainiks are my oxygen," he added. The Sena chief said son Uddhav was looking after him. "Raj (nephew Raj Thackeray) also keeps coming regularly," he said.

14:02
Nitin Gadkari also said that the BJP has rejected Manmohan Vaidya's blog and said the claims were unfounded.

14:01Vaidya's comments not authorised by RSS: Naidu: BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu has finally reacted to senior RSS ideologue M G Vaidya that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi was behind the campaign against Nitin Gadkari. He said, "No such information has been given to us. We are not reacting at all. Let the inquiry be over, let there be no trial outside, it is not fair. I don't know from where this information came. I don't think that this is view of RSS.

"I am also a RSS swayamsevak, with my own experience of 40 years RSS has not expressed such views, it is not an authorised opinion of RSS. Let me make it very clear. To my knowledge and understanding as a swayamsevak, I also know how RSS functions and as a BJP functionary I don't agree with reported things," Naidu said.

The telecom spectrum auction opened today to a lukewarm response with key circles such as Delhi and Mumbai finding no takers in the initial rounds. There were no applications for pan-India spectrum, the base price for which was set at Rs 14,000 crore that the industry said was too high.

The government was looking to raise Rs 40,000 crore from the auction. At the end of the first round, sources said there were no bidders for Delhi, Mumbai, Rajasthan and Kolkata circles. There was some interest for spectrum for Uttar Pradesh (East) circle at the end of second round in the afternoon.

"The government wants to make CAG its agent. The selection process of the CAG should be independent from politics and should be investigated," said Kejriwal, while lashing out at the government over the proposal to make the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) a multi-member body.

"We think that the government suggestion to make CAG a multi-member body shows their intension are very bad. The government is trying to weaken CAG by making it multi-member," he added.

Kejriwal, whose new political party will be christened on November 26, further said the CAG should be completely independents of politicians.

13:36Pak Army rejects probing former generals: Report: The Pakistan Army's legal branch has concluded that there is no scope for the military to try former army chief Gen Mirza Aslam Beg and former ISI chief Lt Gen Asad Durrani for paying millions of rupees to politicians to rig the 1990 general election, a media report said today.

In a preliminary report presented to army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the legal branch concluded that the two retired generals could not be tried under the Army Act following the Supreme Court's order holding them responsible for the rigging of the polls.

13:15Kejriwal claims threat to Sisodia, Kumar Vishwas: Activist-turned-politician Arvind Kejriwal on Monday alleged that some corrupt forces are trying to threaten his close associates Manish Sisodia and Kumar Vishwas. "Some people had earlier tried to enter inside Sisodia''s residence, yesterday they gathered at Kumar Vishwas'' residence and threatened him. But we are prepared for such incidents," said Kejriwal.

13:01Bihar open jail inmates to celebrate Diwali with family: Over 70 prisoners lodged in an open jail in Bihar are eagerly waiting to celebrate the festival of lights with their families inside prison, a unique move by the state which has attracted universal praise. The families of these prisoners, three of whom facing death sentence and many others lifer, have started arriving in the jail for the celebrations. A total of 74 prisoners, selected from across the jails in the state on the basis of good conduct, are presently lodged in the open jail in Buxar.

12:38MIM pulls out of Cong govt in Andhra Pradesh: The Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen has withdraw support from the Kiran Kumar Reddy government in Andhra Pradesh. The MIM has seven MLAs and one MP. As the Congress government in the state is surviving on a razor thin majority in the 294 member assembly, withdrawal of support by seven MLAs of Majlis can sound a death knell for the government. Read more on the issue on Rediff.com.

12:34Assam: Three dead in 3 days in communal violence :
Just in: Another person has been shot dead by unidentified people in Kokrajhar, Assam. On Saturday, at least two persons died in a fresh violence that erupted on in Kokrajhar district. The victims have been identified as a Muslim and a Bodo. The incident occurred on a day Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi claimed that over 4.46 lakh people displaced in the July violence had returned to their respective villages. More Two people have been arrested so far.

Pictured: A mob reacts in Kokrajhar in July. Assam saw the outbreaks of riots between Bodos and Bangladesh illegal migrant Muslims which left at least 77 people dead.

12:26'UP govt has prominent role in the burning of Bhadarsa': An investigation team of Rihai Manch visited the Bhadarsa village which was affected by communal violence during Dussehra celebrations. The team found out that the violence was well planned and was executed by communal elements in connivance with the administration.

The role of the media in this incident is also suspicious. The team also found that the administration is forcing the affected families to erase any evidence of the incident and they have not even been compensated. No FIR has yet been registered yet. Read

12:15The urge to rape: A few days ago in the posh suburb of Bandra, Mumbai, a young Spanish woman of 27 was raped by a burglar who broke into her house in the middle of the night. She was alone in the flat at the time, and her cries for help went unheard until too late.

The police arrested a man named "Badshah' Ansari for this crime a day later. In a city that has long prided itself on being safe for women, everyone was shocked by the brazenness of the rape.

12:07Does Narendra Modi have it in him to be PM: What sort of prime minister will Narendra Modi make? The answer to this question is important because it is thought that if he wins again, Modi will have clinched the matter of his claim. Let us assume Modi decisively wins this election, his third consecutive sweep. Aakar Patel for the Hindustan Times Read

12:02 That's the picture released by the Ministry of External Affairs this morning in the aftermath of the meeting between Afghanistan Presiden Hamid Karazi, President Pranab Mukherjee and PM Manmohan Singh.

12:00Email link woman named in Petraeus FBI case: The woman who was the target of harassing emails from the lover of former CIA director David Petraeus has been named as Jill Kelley.The FBI launched an inquiry after Ms Kelley said she had received vicious emails from Mr Petraeus' biographer Paula Broadwell.The checks revealed the affair and led to Mr Petraeus' resignation. Read

11:49United Spirits stock surges 27% on Diageo deal: Meanwhile, shares of United Spirits today soared by over 27 per cent to 52-week high after the UK-based Diageo Plc said it will buy 53.4 per cent stake in the company for Rs 11,166.5 crore in a multi-structured deal.

The scrip of the Vijay Mallya-led company opened the day on a robust note and surged 27.23 per cent to Rs 1,730 -- to touch the year's high on the BSE, in an overall flat stock market. Similar was the trend at NSE, where the stock zoomed up by 27.15 per cent to a 52-week high of Rs 1,729.

11:45Vaidya: Jethmalani has an opinion, why can't I? : Senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ideologue M G Vaidya has said that he stands by his remark that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi was behind the campaign against Bharatiya Janata Party president Nitin Gadkari. He says needle of suspicion points to Modi, and says its his personal opinion. "If Ram Jethmalani can have a personal opinion, so can I," said Vaidya.

"The roots of the campaign against Nitin Gadkari have to be in Gujarat because when Ram Jethmalani demanded Gadkari's resignation, he also demanded that Narendra Modi be made the prime ministerial candidate of the party," Viadya wrote in his blog on Sunday:

"Modi himself seems to have strong prime ministerial ambitions because L K Advani and Nitin Gadkari have already said that they are not in the race for the PM. But Narendra Modi has still not said anything on this issue.''

"Narendra Modi might have felt that Gadkari as the BJP president will hamper his chances of becoming the prime minster. He is using Jethmalani to fulfill his plans," the senior RSS leader alleged.

If there's a threat to Modi's repeat mandate this time, it comes from one singular source, the Sangh. He has clashed with them too many times over the last ten years and created more powerful enemies than he can possibly handle. Read

11:21Rakhi Sawant to file defamation suit against Digvijaya : Reality show star Rakhi Sawant plans to file a defamation suit against Congress leader Digvijaya Singh for associating her name with India Against Corruption (IAC) member Arvind Kejriwal.Singh on Sunday compared Kejriwal with Sawant, saying that they both try and expose, but without any substance.

Singh had tweeted: "Arvind Kejriwal is like Rakhi Sawant . They both try and expose but with no substance. Apologies to Rakhi Sawant I am an old fan of hers!" More

11:16Hamid Karzai accorded ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhawan: Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai received a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi this morning. He was received by President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh at Rashtrapati Bhawan He inspected the guard of honour and also met members of the Indian Cabinet.

"As always, it''s a great honour for the people of Afghanistan and me. The President of India has been so kind to me. Today meeting will further enhance the relationship of the people of India and Afghanistan," Karzai told media. Karzai, who arrived here on Sunday evening on the second leg of his four-day state visit to India, will hold delegation-level talks with Dr. Singh today.

11:01The rise of Americas BRICS: With the white population shrinking, the black-Hispanic-Asian coalition that powered Obama's victory has the potential to set a new, more progressive American agenda. Read

10:58Hu to step down as military chief, making Xi the most powerful: China's new leader in waiting, Xi Jinping will have a surprise head-start to emerge as the most influential leader, as outgoing President Hu Jintao has reportedly decided to step down from all posts including the all-powerful post of the military chief. Xi, 59, currently the Vice President is expected to be formally nominated as the General Secretary of the ruling Communist Party at the end of the ongoing 18th Communist Party Congress on its last day on November 14.

Scorching speculation, Hu has decided to formally relinquish his position as military chief at the end of the party Congress, Hong Kong-based 'South China Morning Post' quoted officials as saying.

10:5526/11: Lakhvi trained in Karachi, admits Pak:
Pakistani officials have informed an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi the details of training received at Lashkar-e-Tayiba camps by the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

Judge Chaudhry Habibur Rehman on Saturday recorded the statements of five inspectors of crime investigation department who are prosecution witnesses, Dawn reported on Sunday.

They informed him about the training received by the accused, including Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, alleged mastermind, at LeT camps in Karachi, Mansehra, Thatta and Muzaffarabad.

10:53Bofors tormentor to Gadkari's shield: Gurumurthy had burst onto the national scene with a flourish in the 1980s when he pursued the Bofors scandal relentlessly with a team that included Arun Shourie and Ram Jethmalani and was presided over by the late media baron Ramnath Goenka.He called himself Goenka's adviser. Read

10:392G spectrum auction begins: The much-awaited auction for 2G spectrum that was freed following the cancellation of 122 telecom licences started at 0900 hrs today. The government expects to raise around Rs 40,000 crore through the auction.

Telecom Secretary R Chandrashekhar replied in the affirmative when asked if the auction started on time. The auction has started for 1800 megahertz spectrum band -- currently being used for offering 2G GSM telecom services.

"As per schedule, auction time is from 0900 hrs to 1930 hrs. Participating firms have been given an option to seek extension of auction rounds," consulting firm for auction, E-Procurement Technologies' Vice President Suraj Radhakrishnan said.

10:37India's appetite for whiskey attracts Diageo: India is the largest guzzler of whiskey in the world. One of the fastest-growing whiskey markets, it is estimated to be worth about $10 billion by 2013, according to a trade group study from last year. Read more

10:31Asarams son deposes, alleges conspiracy to defame ashram: Narayan Sai Harpalani, the son of Asaram Bapu, on Sunday deposed before the Gujarat government-appointed D K Trivedi Commission, saying he firmly believed that the entire episode of the children's death and subsequent notoriety it brought to Asaram Ashram was part of a conspiracy to defame the ashram-run gurukul, Asaram Bapu and Hindu "sanskriti'. Read

10:302G spectrum auction begins on Monday: It isn't going to be a usual Monday morning at Telenor and Videocon offices. Several executives at the two companies, which along with Idea Cellular, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone are in the fray to acquire 2G spectrum, would have entered their offices by the time most people start their drive to work. Read

10:27 Gujarat tops states in number of Muslim policemen: Gujarat, which faced one of the worst anti-Muslim riots in the country barely 10 years ago, has emerged as the state with the largest number of Muslim cops posted in police stations, beating states with a higher proportion of the community in their population. Read more

08:57Big B threatens to sue Bihar police over poster: Bihar police has removed the posters containing Amitabh Bachchan's pictures after megastar has threatened to take legal action against them saying the photograph has been used without his consent.

The posters were part of an educational programme 'Adhaura 30' and were being used to educate the youths in the Naxal-affected district and wean them away from the Maoists' influence.

"Just read news about my photograph being used by Bihar police .. This is illegal, no consent taken or given, lawyers in action now ..," Bachchan posted on Twitter.

The telecom ministry had planned to hold two separate auctions for airwaves used by Global System for Mobiles and Code Division Multiple Access -- based mobile phone carriers hoping to reap a combined Rs. 40,000 crore to plug a high fiscal deficit, reports NDTV.

However, there are no bidders for CDMA spectrum after Tata Teleservices pulled out of the auction last week.

The absence of bidders for CDMA spectrum means that the government may fall short of the Rs. 40,000 crore revenue target from the auctions.. The government has set a base price of Rs 14,000 crore for 5 mega hertz of GSM airwaves in all the 22 zones -- more than seven times what companies paid in the 2008 grant process.